May: 'Green Party Does Not Split the Vote'

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May: 'Green Party Does Not Split the Vote'

[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/06/27/Ma ... plit-Vote/ ]

Green leader fires back at Tyee piece saying her party will help Harper's chances.

By Elizabeth May, June 27, 2015, TheTyee.ca

Green leader Elizabeth May: 'We are the only party committed to cooperation.'

George Ehring is not original in the tired rant [ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/06/25/Gr ... ervatives/ ] that if Greens wanted to stop Harper, we would just go away. The truth is we are the only party committed to cooperation and have repeatedly appealed for cooperation, having been firmly rebuffed by Mulcair's NDP.

Had Greens been elected into the 2006 or 2008 parliament, we would never have stood by -- as both the NDP and Liberals did -- allowing a Conservative minority that made Stephen Harper prime minister. We would have reminded Canadians (including our national media) that we do not elect prime ministers in Canada; we elect members of parliament.

Whichever party or group of parties can best hold the confidence of the House can form government. Stepping back, waiting for the next election when more money is raised to do battle again, and letting Harper become prime minister is something Greens would never do.

It should be obvious that Stephen Harper does not agree with Ehring. In fact, Harper is doing everything possible to shut me out of the debates -- as he tried to do in 2008 and as he succeeded in doing in 2011. Now that the national televised leaders debate consortium of networks -- CBC, Radio Canada, CTV, and Global -- has accepted that the Green Party meets every rule and criteria to be included in the national debate, Harper is boycotting them.

Conservative Party spokesmen say Harper will appear in five smaller debates instead. Of those, Greens are only included in one. Knowing Harper to be a master strategist, if there was any truth in Ehring's thesis, Harper would be pushing Greens forward in debates.

Numbers to calm fears:

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[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/06/27/Ma ... plit-Vote/ ]